The Healthiest Old Person on the Planet Explains How to Stay in Shape

By Matt Blake

April 11, 2016

Charles Eugster posing with his World Rowing Masters trophy. All photos courtesy of Charles Eugster

Charles Eugster is the greatest British sprinter you've probably never heard of. He currently holds world records in the 200m (indoor) and 400m (outdoor) sprints, as well as British records in the 60m (indoor), 100m (outdoor), and 200m (outdoor). A couple of weeks ago, he narrowly missed out on the world record for the 60m sprint after pulling his hamstring halfway through. He still won the race to become European Champion. It's an impressive record, given that the man—by pretty well established standards—shouldn't be able to cross a road without help, let alone run. He is 96 years old.

The London-born ex-dentist, who now lives in Switzerland, is arguably the fittest senior citizen on the planet. He's also a body-builder, a public speaker, a writer, a rower, a wakeboarder, an entrepreneur, and a budding fashion designer, planning his own line in elderly couture. But more than anything, he is a professional death defier who hasn't just slowed the ravages of aging, but reversed them all together: where once white pubic hairs grew, he says, brown ones now flourish.

This was, of course, quite tricky to independently verify when I rang him up recently.

Charles wakeboarding

VICE: Hi Charles. Congratulations on the over-nineties 60m European title. Were you disappointed not to get the world record?Charles Eugster: Oh, very. The thing was, I felt absolutely great before the race and was in my youthful dreams with hopes of attacking the world record of 14.28 seconds. I flew out of the blocks and, after the first 30m, I was out in front of the pack. That's when my hamstring tore. You see, I was against the most extraordinary people: a 90-year-old German and a 99-year-old Italian. I knew they were quick, but I'd left them miles behind. Then, as the leg pain set in, they started to catch me. I was scared stiff that they would beat me, but of course they didn't. I staggered over the line within over 18 seconds. Nowhere near the record. Now I must stop training for a month.

Sprinting—or body-building, for that matter—are not things one normally associates with old people. Why?I was 87 and realized my body was deteriorating. I had a muffin-top waist and my muscles were getting weaker and weaker. I felt so old. But because I was so vain, I didn't like the idea of it at all. So I joined a body-building gym and employed a personal trainer who was a Mr. Universe to rebuild my body from scratch.

Nine years on, at 96, do you feel old now?Not at all. I feel like a youngster of 60, tops. Being fit is a wonderful thing. Before I turned 90, I got severe colds every November, but now they've completely stopped—I've had two in six years. I'll tell you something else: strength training increases your libido.

And you know this from experience?Well, you know the story about my pubic hair, don't you?

I feel like I'm about to.When I was still training with Mr. Universe, he took me aside one day and asked, "Have you noticed an increase in your libido?" I was embarrassed. I said, "Look, this is not something I'd like to discuss. It's private." But he was very persistent, and in the end I relented. I said, "Look now, you mustn't tell anybody else, but what I'm about to tell you is very dramatic. Incredible. Since I started on this program, my pubic hairs, which were white, have turned brown." I mean, wow!

So you've literally reversed the process of aging.Yes! You see, the stupid thing is that people don't realize that you can have a beach body at 90 and turn the heads of the sexy 70-year-old girls on the beach. I am living proof that, if you eat right and exercise properly, you can be that guy at any age.

What do you eat to stay in shape?Variety is key. I start every day with a protein shake because, as you get older, your protein synthesis no longer functions as well. I avoid sugar and eat lots of meat, especially fat. I've been on a fat trip lately. Fat! Piles of fat. Yet, I was in a supermarket the other day and was perplexed to find yogurt with zero fat. What on earth is that? The idea of the nutrition pyramid where, at the top, is a little fat and meat, and at the bottom a lot of carbohydrates, is, excuse me, bullshit. Humans are so unbelievably stupid that we have begun to tinker with food. Our theories of nutrition have resulted in a pandemic of obesity. Can you imagine a hunter-gatherer enjoying a low-fat yogurt? Let me tell you this, too: I read a report recently which said that a fatty diet also increases your libido.

I know you sadly lost your second wife, Elsie, 15 years ago. But with all this talk of libido, are you looking for love?Yes. But the only problem is that I seem to be so busy with so many other things I don't have an enormous amount of time. I'm registered with a dating agency, but all they can produce are young things of about 70! Above 70 there's nothing.

Why is that, do you think?Because people of 70 to 100 years old are absolutely the lost population. We are ignored by society, by medicine, by research. And we can't get a job. Nobody cares about us. I'll give you one silly example: there are no training plans, or gyms, for anybody over 70, as there are in Japan. The way we treat the elderly today is disgraceful. And don't even get me onto retirement.

What about retirement?Retirement is the biggest killer of old people, full stop. I prefer to call it involuntary unemployment. What I'm nearly bursting a blood vessel about is the fact that humans are blissfully ignoring the aging process. We recycle everything nowadays, except human beings. Our expiry date is 65, after which we're thrown on the rubbish heap and chemically treated. We are pouring the experience, creativity, and talent of people over 65 down the toilet. They should be able to found companies, be creative. They have nothing to do except sit about and get sick. This is a world problem and it needs to change.

What's your answer?PUT. OLD. PEOPLE. TO. WORK! One of the things I want to do is set up a retraining program for older people. I'd like to see companies set up in old people's homes that offer, say, computer services. For example, if I want to find out something, the computer is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it takes a while to find [what you're looking for]. Now, if I could call up an old people's home and say, "I want this information by that time," if they have 50 old people working on computers, one of them is bound to come up with something.

Like a sort of elderly IT sweatshop?[Laughs] Well, we'd pay them properly, obviously. It could be transcriptions, or research, anything.

You've seen a world war, a Cold War, the Great Depression, and god knows how many financial crises, not to mention all the good things that have happened since you were born in 1919. What's the one piece of advice you'd give to young people today?Explore your talents and never stop learning. In your lifetime you will not have one job, but you will have a huge number of different jobs in different areas. We are at the very beginning of the digital age, of which nobody really knows the consequences. Oh, and don't get too wrapped up in the culture of youth. Youth is so fantastic, but we should be impressing on people how wonderful, stupendous, exciting, and amazing old age can be, too. Oh, exercise and eat lots of fat. You know why!

What else is on your bucket list?I want to change the world. I'm writing a book called 97 and Loving It, which I hope to publish this year. Then I want to establish fitness centers for those over 70 and start a job creation company to retrain older people. Then, of course, I want to have some connection with nutrition for the old. And the other thing in the back of my mind is that I would like to create a fashion label for older people. Because the way that older people dress is absolutely disgusting. I don't just want a label, I want a whole conglomerate.

And what about your sprinting?Well, once this hamstring heals, I think we'll see what can be done about the 100m outdoors. There's a 105-year-old Japanese sprinter called Hidekichi Miyazaki who I would like to run against over 100m. They call him "The Golden Bolt," and with our combined ages of over 200 years, I think that would be some spectacle!

The flat earth being in the bible is not there because of ancient ignorance. It is there because it is the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God and every Word is True. Jesus is the Word and Jesus is the Truth. Amen.

We show that much of the scientific evidence indicating that some polar bear subpopulations are declining due to climate change-mediated sea ice reductions is likely flawed by poor mark–recapture (M-R) sampling and that the complex analysis models employed to overcome these capture issues apparently fail to provide accurate estimates of the demographic parameters used to determine subpopulation status.

Our perspectives on climate warming and Arctic sea ice decline are developed from an empirical examination of the open-source data on various indicators of these phenomena. We see reason for concern, but find no reliable evidence to support the contention that polar bears are currently experiencing a climate crisis. We suggest that the qualitative projections for dramatic reductions in population numbers and range are overly pessimistic given the response of polar bears, climate, and sea ice to the present.

The Apostolic Exhortation is striking for its breadth and detail. Its 325 paragraphs are distributed over nine chapters. The seven introductory paragraphs plainly set out the complexity of a topic in urgent need of thorough study. The interventions of the Synod Fathers make up [form] a “multifaceted gem” (AL 4), a precious polyhedron, whose value must be preserved. But the Pope cautions that “not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium”. Indeed, for some questions, “each country or region…can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs. For ‘cultures are in fact quite diverse and every general principle…needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied’”(AL 3).This principle of inculturation applies to how problems are formulated and addressed and, apart from the dogmatic issues that have been well defined by the Church’s magisterium, none of this approach can be “globalised”. In his address at the end of the 2015 Synod, the Pope said very clearly: “What seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous – almost! – for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion.”

The Pope clearly states that we need above all to avoid a sterile juxtaposition between demands for change and the general application of abstract norms. He writes: “The debates carried on in the media, in certain publications and even among the Church’s ministers, range from an immoderate desire for total change without sufficient reflection or grounding, to an attitude that would solve everything by applying general rules or deriving undue conclusions from particular theological considerations”(AL 2).

Chapter One: “In the light of the Word” (8-30)

Following this introduction, the Pope begins his reflections with the Holy Scriptures in the first chapter, which unfolds as a meditation on Psalm 128 (which appears in the Jewish wedding liturgy as well as that of Christian marriages). The Bible “is full of families, births, love stories and family crises”(AL 8). This impels us to meditate on how the family is not an abstract ideal but rather like a practical “trade” (AL 16), which is carried out with tenderness (AL 28), but which has also been confronted with sin from the beginning, when the relationship of love turned into domination (cf. AL 19). Hence, the Word of God “is not a series of abstract ideas but rather a source of comfort and companionship for every family that experiences difficulties or suffering. For it shows them the goal of their journey...” (AL 22).

Chapter two: “The experiences and challenges of families” (31-57)

Building on the biblical base, in the second chapter the Pope considers the current situation of families. While keeping “firmly grounded in [the] reality” of family experiences (AL 6), he also draws heavily on the final reports of the two synods. Families face many challenges, from migration to the ideological denial of differences between the sexes (“ideology of gender” AL 56); from the culture of the provisional to the anti-birth mentality and the impact of biotechnology in the field of procreation; from the lack of housing and work to pornography and abuse of minors; from inattention to persons with disabilities, to lack of respect for the elderly; from the legal dismantling of the family, to violence against women. The Pope insists on concreteness, which is a key concept in the Exhortation. And it is concreteness, realism and daily life that make up the substantial difference between acceptable “theories” of interpretation of reality and arbitrary “ideologies”.

Citing Familiaris Consortio, Francis states that “we do well to focus on concrete realities, since ‘the call and the demands of the Spirit resound in the events of history’, and through these ‘the Church can also be guided to a more profound understanding of the inexhaustible mystery of marriage and the family’”(AL 31).Conversely, if we fail to listen to reality, we cannot understand the needs of the present or the movements of the Spirit. The Pope notes that rampant individualism makes it difficult today for a person to give oneself generously to another (cf. AL 33). Here is an interesting picture of the situation: “The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fear of entrapment in a relationship that could hamper the achievement of one’s personal goals” (AL 34).

The humility of realism helps us to avoid presenting “a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families” (AL 36). Idealism does not allow marriage to be understood for what it is, that is, a “dynamic path to personal development and fulfilment”. It is unrealistic to think that families can sustain themselves “simply by stressing doctrinal, bioethical and moral issues, without encouraging openness to grace” (AL 37). Calling for a certain “self-criticism” of approaches that are inadequate for the experience of marriage and the family, the Pope stresses the need to make room for the formation of the conscience of the faithful: “We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them” (AL37). Jesus proposed a demanding ideal but “never failed to show compassion and closeness to the frailty of individuals like the Samaritan woman or the woman caught in adultery” (AL 38).

Chapter three: “Looking to Jesus: The vocation of the family” (58-88)

The third chapter is dedicated to some essential elements of the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family. This chapter is important because its 30 paragraphs concisely depict the vocation of the family according to the Gospel and as affirmed by the Church over time. Above all, it stresses the themes of indissolubility, the sacramental nature of marriage, the transmission of life and the education of children. Gaudium et Spes of Vatican II, Humanae Vitae of Paul VI, and Familiaris Consortio of John Paul II are widely quoted.

The chapter provides a broad view and touches on “imperfect situations” as well. We can read, in fact: “‘Discernment of the presence of ‘seeds of the Word’ in other cultures (cf. Ad Gentes 11) can also apply to the reality of marriage and the family. In addition to true natural marriage, positive elements exist in the forms of marriage found in other religious traditions’, even if, at times, obscurely” (AL 77).The reflection also includes the “wounded families” about whom the Pope – quoting the Final Report of the 2015 Synod extensively – says that “it is always necessary to recall this general principle: ‘Pastors must know that, for the sake of truth, they are obliged to exercise careful discernment of situations’ (Familiaris Consortio, 84).The degree of responsibility is not equal in all cases and factors may exist which limit the ability to make a decision. Therefore, while clearly stating the Church’s teaching, pastors are to avoid judgements that do not take into account the complexity of various situations, and they are to be attentive, by necessity, to how people experience and endure distress because of their condition” (AL 79).

Chapter four: “Love in marriage” (89-164)

The fourth chapter treats love in marriage, which it illuminates with St Paul’s Hymn to Love in I Corinthians 13:4-7. This opening section is truly a painstaking, focused, inspired and poetic exegesis of the Pauline text. It is a collection of brief passages carefully and tenderly describing human love in absolutely concrete terms. The quality of psychological introspection that marks this exegesis is striking. The psychological insights enter into the emotional world of the spouses – positive and negative – and the erotic dimension of love. This is an extremely rich and valuable contribution to Christian married life, unprecedented in previous papal documents.

This section digresses briefly from the more extensive, perceptive treatment of the day-to-day experience of married love which the Pope refuses to judge against ideal standards: “There is no need to lay upon two limited persons the tremendous burden of having to reproduce perfectly the union existing between Christ and his Church, for marriage as a sign entails ‘a dynamic process…, one which advances gradually with the progressive integration of the gifts of God’” (AL 122). On the other hand, the Pope forcefully stresses the fact that conjugal love by its very nature defines the partners in a richly encompassing and lasting union (AL 123), precisely within that “mixture of enjoyment and struggles, tensions and repose, pain and relief, satisfactions and longings, annoyances and pleasures” (Al 126) which indeed make up a marriage.

The chapter concludes with a very important reflection on the “transformation of love” because “Longer life spans now mean that close and exclusive relationships must last for four, five or even six decades; consequently, the initial decision has to be frequently renewed” (AL 163). As physical appearance alters, the loving attraction does not lessen but changes as sexual desire can be transformed over time into the desire for togetherness and mutuality: “There is no guarantee that we will feel the same way all through life. Yet if a couple can come up with a shared and lasting life project, they can love one another and live as one until death do them part, enjoying an enriching intimacy” (AL 163).

Chapter five: “Love made fruitful” (165-198)

The fifth chapter is entirely focused on love’s fruitfulness and procreation. It speaks in a profoundly spiritual and psychological manner about welcoming new life, about the waiting period of pregnancy, about the love of a mother and a father. It also speaks of the expanded fruitfulness of adoption, of welcoming the contribution of families to promote a “culture of encounter”, and of family life in a broad sense which includes aunts and uncles, cousins, relatives of relatives, friends. Amoris Laetitia does not focus on the so-called 'nuclear' family because it is very aware of the family as a wider network of many relationships. The spirituality of the sacrament of marriage has a deeply social character (cf. AL 187). And within this social dimension the Pope particularly emphasizes the specific role of the relationship between youth and the elderly, as well as the relationship between brothers and sisters as a training ground for relating with others.

Chapter six: “Some pastoral perspectives” (199-258)

In the sixth chapter the Pope treats various pastoral perspectives that are aimed at forming solid and fruitful families according to God’s plan. The chapter use the Final Reports of the two Synods and the catecheses of Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II extensively. It reiterates that families should not only be evangelised, they should also evangelise. The Pope regrets “that ordained ministers often lack the training needed to deal with the complex problems currently facing families” (AL 202). On the one hand, the psycho-affective formation of seminarians needs to be improved, and families need to be more involved in formation for ministry (cf. AL 203);and on the other hand, “the experience of the broad oriental tradition of a married clergy could also be drawn upon” (AL 202).

The Pope then deals with the preparation of the engaged for marriage; with the accompaniment of couples in the first years of married life, including the issue of responsible parenthood; and also with certain complex situations and crises, knowing that “each crisis has a lesson to teach us; we need to learn how to listen for it with the ear of the heart” (AL 232). Some causes of crisis are analysed, among them a delay in maturing affectively (cf. AL 239).

Mention is furthermore made of accompanying abandoned, separated or divorced persons. The Exhortation stresses the importance of the recent reform of the procedures for marriage annulment. It highlights the suffering of children in situations of conflict and concludes: “Divorce is an evil and the increasing number of divorces is very troubling. Hence, our most important pastoral task with regard to families is to strengthen their love, helping to heal wounds and working to prevent the spread of this drama of our times” (AL 246). It then touches on the situations of a marriage between a Catholic and a Christian of another denomination (mixed marriages), and between a Catholic and someone of another religion (disparity of cult). Regarding families with members with homosexual tendencies, it reaffirms the necessity to respect them and to refrain from any unjust discrimination and every form of aggression or violence. The last, pastorally poignant part of the chapter, “When death makes us feel its sting”, is on the theme of the loss of dear ones and of widowhood.

Chapter seven: “Towards a better education of children” (259-290)

The seventh chapter is dedicated to the education of children: their ethical formation, the learning of discipline which can include punishment, patient realism, sex education, passing on the faith and, more generally, family life as an educational context. The practical wisdom present in each paragraph is remarkable, above all the attention given to those gradual, small steps “that can be understood, accepted and appreciated” (AL 271).

There is a particularly interesting and pedagogically fundamental paragraph in which Francis clearly states that “obsession, however, is not education. We cannot control every situation that a child may experience…If parents are obsessed with always knowing where their children are and controlling all their movements, they will seek only to dominate space. But this is no way to educate, strengthen and prepare their children to face challenges. What is most important is the ability lovingly to help them grow in freedom, maturity, overall discipline and real autonomy” (AL 260).

The notable section on education in sexuality is very expressively entitled: “Yes to sex education”. The need is there, and we have to ask “if our educational institutions have taken up this challenge…in an age when sexuality tends to be trivialised and impoverished”. Sound education needs to be carried out “within the broader framework of an education for love, for mutual self-giving” (AL 280). The text warns that theexpression ‘safe sex’ conveys “a negative attitude towards the natural procreative finality of sexuality, as if an eventual child were an enemy to be protected against. This way of thinking promotes narcissism and aggressivity in place of acceptance” (AL 283).

The eighth chapter is an invitation to mercy and pastoral discernment in situations that do not fully match what the Lord proposes. The Pope uses three very important verbs: guiding, discerning andintegrating, which are fundamental in addressing fragile, complex or irregular situations. The chapter has sections on the need for gradualness in pastoral care; the importance of discernment; norms and mitigating circumstances in pastoral discernment; and finally what the Pope calls the “logic of pastoral mercy”.

Chapter eight is very sensitive. In reading it one must remember that “the Church’s task is often like that of a field hospital” (AL 291).Here the Holy Father grapples with the findings of the Synods on controversial issues. He reaffirms what Christian marriage is and adds that “some forms of union radically contradict this ideal, while others realise it in at least a partial and analogous way”.The Church therefore “does not disregard the constructive elements in those situations which do not yet or no longer correspond to her teaching on marriage” (AL 292).

As far as discernment with regard to “irregular” situations is concerned, the Pope states: “There is a need ‘to avoid judgements which do not take into account the complexity of various situations’ and ‘to be attentive, by necessity, to how people experience distress because of their condition’” (AL 296). And he continues: “It is a matter of reaching out to everyone, of needing to help each person find his or her proper way of participating in the ecclesial community, and thus to experience being touched by an ‘unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous’ mercy” (AL 297). And further: “The divorced who have entered a new union, for example, can find themselves in a variety of situations, which should not be pigeonholed or fit into overly rigid classifications leaving no room for a suitable personal and pastoral discernment” (AL 298).

In this line, gathering the observations of many Synod Fathers, the Pope states that “the baptised who are divorced and civilly remarried need to be more fully integrated into Christian communities in the variety of ways possible, while avoiding any occasion of scandal”. “Their participation can be expressed in different ecclesial services…Such persons need to feel not as excommunicated members of the Church, but instead as living members, able to live and grow in the Church…This integration is also needed in the care and Christian upbringing of their children” (AL 299).

In a more general vein, the Pope makes an extremely important statement for understanding the orientation and meaning of the Exhortation: “If we consider the immense variety of concrete situations,…it is understandable that neither the Synod nor this Exhortation could be expected to provide a new set of general rules, canonical in nature and applicable to all cases. What is needed is simply a renewed encouragement to undertake a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases, one which would recognise that, since ‘the degree of responsibility is not equal in all cases’, the consequences or effects of a rule need not necessarily always be the same” (AL 300). The Pope develops in depth the needs and characteristics of the journey of accompaniment and discernment necessary for profound dialogue between the faithful and their pastors.

For this purpose the Holy Father recalls the Church’s reflection on “mitigating factors and situations” regarding the attribution of responsibility and accountability for actions; and relying on St Thomas Aquinas, he focuses on the relationship between rules and discernment by stating: “It is true that general rules set forth a good which can never be disregarded or neglected, but in their formulation they cannot provide absolutely for all particular situations. At the same time, it must be said that, precisely for that reason, what is part of a practical discernment in particular circumstances cannot be elevated to the level of a rule” (AL 304).

The last section of the chapter treats “The logic of pastoral mercy”. To avoid misunderstandings, Pope Francis strongly reiterates: “To show understanding in the face of exceptional situations never implies dimming the light of the fuller ideal, or proposing less than what Jesus offers to the human being. Today, more important than the pastoral care of failures is the pastoral effort to strengthen marriages and thus to prevent their breakdown” (AL 307).

The overall sense of the chapter and of the spirit that Pope Francis wishes to impart to the pastoral work of the Church is well summed up in the closing words: “I encourage the faithful who find themselves in complicated situations to speak confidently with their pastors or with other lay people whose lives are committed to the Lord. They may not always encounter in them a confirmation of their own ideas or desires, but they will surely receive some light to help them better understand their situation and discover a path to personal growth. I also encourage the Church’s pastors to listen to them with sensitivity and serenity, with a sincere desire to understand their plight and their point of view, in order to help them live better lives and to recognise their proper place in the Church.” (AL 312).

On the “logic of pastoral mercy”, Pope Francis emphasises: “At times we find it hard to make room for God’s unconditional love in our pastoral activity. We put so many conditions on mercy that we empty it of its concrete meaning and real significance. That is the worst way of watering down the Gospel” (AL 311).

Chapter nine: “The spirituality of marriage and the family” (313-325)

The ninth chapter is devoted to marital and family spirituality, which “is made up of thousands of small but real gestures” (AL 315). The Pope clearly states that “those who have deep spiritual aspirations should not feel that the family detracts from their growth in the life of the Spirit, but rather see it as a path which the Lord is using to lead them to the heights of mystical union” (AL 316). Everything, “moments of joy, relaxation, celebration, and even sexuality can be experienced as a sharing in the full life of the resurrection” (AL 317). He then speaks of prayer in the light of Easter, of the spirituality of exclusive and free love in the challenge and the yearning to grow old together, reflecting God’s fidelity (cf. AL 319). And finally the spirituality of care, consolation and incentive: the Pope teaches that “all family life is a ‘shepherding’ in mercy. Each of us, by our love and care, leaves a mark on the life of others” (AL 322). It is a profound “spiritual experience to contemplate our loved ones with the eyes of God and to see Christ in them” (AL 323).

In the final paragraph the Pope affirms: “No family drops down from heaven perfectly formed; families need constantly to grow and mature in the ability to love…All of us are called to keep striving towards something greater than ourselves and our families, and every family must feel this constant impulse. Let us make this journey as families, let us keep walking together. (…) May we never lose heart because of our limitations, or ever stop seeking that fullness of love and communion which God holds out before us” (AL 325).

A man arrested after National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration volunteers called police to report he was harassing a Hawaiian monk seal at a Nanakuli beach has filed an excessive force lawsuit.

The lawsuit says Jamie Kalani Rice stood motionless as a Honolulu police officer used a baton to hit him in the arms, torso and legs.

His attorney Michael Green said Monday his client is bipolar and suffers from schizophrenia.

The Honolulu Police Department declined to comment on pending litigation.

Video recorded by the NOAA volunteers shows Rice kneeling next to the endangered animal. The video shows the officer approach and pull out pepper spray and a baton. Rice walks away and the officer follows. The officer is seen hitting Rice with the baton until Rice hits the ground.

Prosecutors are again looking into the case of a Honolulu police officer who can be seen on video repeatedly hitting a man with a baton before arresting him.

Deputy prosecutors had initially declined to pursue charges against officer Ming Wang in the September 2014 incident. But Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro has ordered his staff to re-examine the case.

Dave Koga, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said that Kaneshiro disagreed with the deputy's decision to decline and assigned the case to another deputy to review and possibly send to a grand jury. Koga said he wasn't able to elaborate further.

The video shows 41-year-old Jamie Kalani Rice kneeling next to a monk seal on a Nanakuli beach. It was recorded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration volunteers Barbara and Robert Billand, who told police that Rice had been harassing the endangered animal.

The video shows Wang approach Rice and pull out pepper spray and a baton. Rice eventually walks away and Wang follows him. The officer can then be seen hitting Rice with the baton until Rice hits the ground.

Wang arrested Rice for allegedly harassing a monk seal and resisting arrest, but prosecutors dropped the resisting arrest charge. Rice later told a judge that he believed the seal was sick and never meant harm toward it.

Wang said in his police report that Rice had refused his orders to step away from the seal. He also said he told Rice that he was under arrest, but that Rice kept walking.

Wang said he used pepper spray on Rice, but that it was not effective. He then hit Rice in the right thigh with the baton after commands to get on the ground, Wang wrote.

Rice was treated for broken bones in his right hand.

The Honolulu Police Department said it launched both administrative and criminal assault investigations into Wang's conduct and forwarded the criminal investigation to prosecutors for review.

The department said it completed its administrative investigation but cannot comment on it because such investigations are confidential unless they result in termination.

The deputy prosecutor who reviewed the case said that he recommended against pursuing charges because the video did not have sound to determine what was said between Wang and Rice, and Rice had signed a waiver of prosecution.
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A lawsuit has been filed against the city in connection with an alleged police beating that was shot on home video by witnesses that’s gone viral on social media.

The incident happened in September 2014 at a beach in Nanakuli. The police officer was responding to a report of a man harassing a monk seal. The man said he was chanting at the seal when the officer came up to him and told him to move. The man claims he started to move back but then the officer pepper sprayed him and began to beat him with his baton.

Attorney Michael Green said “everyone is entitled to justice. Everyone is entitled to the protection of the laws and when you get people that are really weak, where the offender doesn’t think they have a voice in our society and our government and the right to object to this kind of treatment, it goes on and on. … There has to be a stop to it.”

KHON2 reached out to the Honolulu Police Department for comment, but a spokesperson said they haven’t received any official notice of a lawsuit yet and can’t comment.

The officer involved was placed on desk duty after the incident, but was later returned to full duty status.

Negro, are you dumb*?
Thursday, 03/24/2016 24:12
By Elias Argudín in Sección Opinión
Version Impresión

Just a few hours ago, Havana was the scene of what, undoubtedly, is the most important news in a long time. The President of the United States visited the capital of the Greater Antilles to meet his Cuban counterpart and his people, which -for unusual and even unlikely until relatively recently time- qualifies as an historical event, called to mark a before and later in the relations between two nations protagonists of a long and bitter dispute, and even of becoming a global scale.

Obama came, saw, but unfortunately, with the intended gesture of reaching out, he also wanted to win. No, in his capacity as occupant of the White House, he has done as much as him for the approach, normalization of ties, and lifting the blockade; great merit much like, but still on the practical means little, with the addition of having conditioned the advance requests that lacerate sovereignty in matters that only concern the patio.

During his stay, praise, however, regardless of the reception of the hosts and their guest status, far beyond recognition, he chose to criticize and suggest, with subtleties, in an evening, yet unmistakable, incitement to rebellion and disorder, regardless of abode be in others. There is no doubt, Obama was overdid it. I can not help but tell -at style Virulo- "But Negro, you're DUMB*!"
We were very courteous, even to the point of letting him speak alone (and at home) with enemies within the home, after all, it is against the inhuman and cruel blockade; it is a pity to come to realize when it is already the end of his second term and has no chance for another reelection.

As Obama himself has said, lifting the blockade is the best way to help Cubans, however still in force, and while the US president can not abolish it without the consent of Congress, if you can empty its contents -in good measure , to make only assert their executive powers.

Gestures? Which? It is not Cuba who tends an economic blockade on the United States, neither assaulted him or exercises financial pressures. Taking a democratic model Yankee style that is alien?

Freedoms? Which? Does enjoyed by (police) targets for slaughter in cold blood to any African descent?

However, if there is interest of achieving standardization, the blockade and the occupation of a portion of Guantanamo really are inadmissible.

In both cases, i.e. removal and return, is right thing to do from a legal point of view, not to mention that the blockade is also cruel, inhuman, genocidal, "anti-UN, anti-International Law"; return the usurped portion gesture of bravado, show of force. The US should not lose the opportunity to repair discredited sizes and act in accordance with the speech of his agent.

*The wording is “Swedish” Did you know that, literally translated “hacerse el sueco“ means ‘to play Swedish’? Though the real meaning is to play dumb or to pretend not to hear/not to notice.
One explanation of this expression is in the origin of the word “sueco” which stems from the Latin word “soccus” (log). So, if you “play the log“ (soccus = sueco), you’re pretending not to understand/not to hear something – just like how we ‘play dumb’ so we dont have to responsible for something.

However, the most logical explanation refers to the times when Swedish sailors docked in Spanish ports. To avoid certain inconvenient obligations and affairs, they unconcerned themselves by using the lack of Spanish languageskills as an excuse to basically get out of doing something.”